Although the heart is much more mythic, the liver is the noble organ par excellence and the liver transplant is one of the most complicated. It is a very complicated operation and as vital as a heart transplant.
The liver is, although many people do not know it, the authentic organ of life. Physiologically, it is much more complex than the heart or the kidney. The history of liver transplantation is plagued with numerous attempts throughout the world during the 60s and 70s. The results of these attempts were not favorable since, in the best hands, the survival rate was 30%.
It was in the 80s when improvements were introduced in the equipment and medical techniques and with it the survival went from 30 to 70%. This percentage will continue to increase in the following decades in patients, who would otherwise be condemned to death in days or, at the most, months.
In our country, Carles Margarit and Eduardo Jaurrieta were the first doctors to carry out a successful liver transplant operation. In addition, in Spain a huge number of liver transplants are performed successfully.
Do we know what the liver is and how it works?
